Drumbeat

Despite a drumbeat of bad economic news, the stock market is up - almost 11 percent in the last few weeks. Junk bonds, those risky corporate I. O. U.'s, are rallying. The value of financial shares, bank loans, tricky credit derivatives - up, up, up. Many on Wall Street, the epicenter of the credit mess, seem to think that the worst is over. For the first time in months, analysts and executives sound upbeat again. Many of them see a broad, sustained recovery in both the economy and the financial markets coming in the second half of this year, a prediction some market strategists call hopeful at best.